Percolator coffeepot



Feb. 16 1926.

M. L. WOOD PERcoLAToR-COFFEEPOT Filed Nov. 2, 1925 Patented Feb. 16,1926.

- UNIT-ED STATES 1,573,668 PATENT OFFICE.

H0838 LINDLEY WOOD, 0l' WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0l' COLUMBIA.

rnconuon corran-Por.

Application iled November 2, [925. Serial No. 66,308.

the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My resent invention relates to improvements 1n coffee ots of thepercolating type, and it is' inten ed to provide a cheap and eiiicientmeans of changing existing pots to make them efficient, which may bevery cheaply attachedthereto. v

My invention will be more fully understood after reference to theaccompanyin drawings, in which like parts are indicated by similarreference symbols throughout the several views, and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a' central vertical section through the usualcompletecoffee pot, with its contents as ordinarily used in practice, partsbeing shown in elevation, and the valves being shown in the closedposition;

Fig. 2 shows a section through the coffee pot along the line 2-2 of Fig.1 and looking down, the liquid contents of the coifee pot not beingshown;

Fig. 3 -is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the device shown inFig. 1, along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2, but shows oneof the valves in theopen position, as when not subjected to steam pressure; and y Fig. 4 isa detail view showing the referred form of valve plate and va vesadapted for use in my invention.

A represents a coffee pot of any usual or' preferred shape, referablycylindrical in vcross-section and aving the closed bottom A and theperforations a registeringwith the spout B. A suitable handle C is alsoprovided. The upper portion of the container A is closed by the cover D,hinged as at D". This vcover may be of any suitable construction, but ispreferably provided with a central dome-shaped inverted lass cup D',which is made heavy enough to old the cover ordinarily firmly on itsseat, thus to prevent the escape of vapor carrying aroma from the coffeepot, except when the pressure becomes too great, in which case the coveracts as a safety valve.

The glass dome D not only serves as a lwhose bottom F weight for thecover, but also permits the operator to inspect the contents of the coeepot and note how itis operating,-when desired.

` E represents ther partition dplate, preferably in the form of aninverte champagne glass, having a hollow stem E opemng downward lintothe chamber X, formed between this plate E and the bottom A of thecoffee pot.

The stem E is provided with an abutment e', preferably 1n the form of anannular fiange, to support the percolator cup F,

1s provided with a number of small perforations f", as shown, and itscenter is provided with a hollow axial tube F", which telescopes overthe stem E. The cup-shaped plate E is preferably provided with theradial flange e adapted to slide freely down in the cylindricalcontainer A, to center the ,said plate E and its stem E in the outercontainer, whereby the parts may be more conveniently assembled anddis-assembled.

This plate E is provided with a plurality of o enings e", to permit thepassage of the liquid in the coffee pot from one side For convenience ofmanufacture, these.

valves are preferably stamped from a single integral plate H, whichplate may be of any very thin resilient metal, such as spring brass,aluminum, or any other suitable metal or alloy, having the sufficientresiliency.

In order to make the valve sensitive in operation, they are carried atthe end of resilient armsh, and it is possible to make these arms longerby having them arranged at a considerable angle with the radii vof theplate H rather than radial, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4.

This valve plate may be attached to the lower side of the cup plate E inany convenient way, as by means of the rivets I, see Figs. 1 and 2,'which pass through the rivet holes h in the plate H, as shown in Fi 4.

Ig-Iaving thus described the construction of the parts in the preferredform, the operation of the device is as follows:

Suppose the ground coffee G to be placed at the desired hei ht in theperoclator cup F and the desire uantity of water L to be placed in theco ee plot, the cover of the pot being closed, place t e pot over thestove or other heater.

The heat from the bottom passes directly into the water confined in thechamber X., heating the water in said chamber, and this hot water willrise by convection currents in the stem E. The valves being closed, thesmall bod of water contained in the chamber X wi l soon developsufficient steam to cause a small explosion, on the well known principleof the geyser action. This will cause the steam and yhot water to passthrough the narrowing neck e2 and up through the hollow stem E, the hotwater falling back on the ground coi'eeG and the steam filling the upperportion of the coffee pot. After this explosion has spent itself, andits action 'will be only momentary, the pressure will be relieved in thechamber X, the valves will open, and in a little while there will beanot er explosion, with a similar geyser action. These explosive cycleswill become repeated more rapidly as the entire mass of the liquid L vbecomes heated up, and each successive cycle will be more efficient 1ncarrying hot water and steam u to the percolator cup. By having theopenmgs e0 spaced away from the axis of the stem, the inowing liquidfiowing into the chamber X has free access while that thrown upwardthrough the stem is guided by the curved face e2 and finds a freepassageway upwards under the pressure of the enerated steam. The resultis that the co ee pot functions very rapidly and very efficiently.

The heavy cover will retain the vapors inside the coffee pot unless thepressure becomes excessive, and then this cover will act as a safetyvalve, but in practice the cover will remain closed during the processof making the coffee.

Obviousl the operator can in ect the contents ofy he pot through thes(lbme D l and see whether the vapor is rising and how the coli'ee potis operating, whenever desired.

After the operation has been carried along a suflicient length of timeto suit the strength of the coffee desired, or the will of the operator,the coffee pot may be removed from the stove and coffee may be usedtherefrom in the usual way.

Inorder to cleanse the parts thoroughly, when desired, as for instancewhen the coffee pot is cold, it is a simple matter to swingl the toopen, take out the percolator cup F, andJ empty its contents and cleansethe same, grip the stem E and remove with it the plate E and the valves,when these parts may all be thoroughly cleaned, and finally the liquid,if any, remaining in the coffee pot may be poured out and the containermay be thoroughly cleansed.

n re-assembling the lparts, grip the stem E', slide the cupped ate Einto position shown in Fig. 1, an slip the percolator cup F over thestem E, and the parts will be ready for use. l

While I have shown a weighted cover with a glass dome, a heavy metalcover might be substituted therefor, if desired.

Moreover, while I prefer to have the valve plate and valves all made ofa single piece, obviously the .valves may be made separately withflexible tongues straight or curved, and separately attached to theunderside of the late E.

' By having t ese placed on the underside of the plate E, as shown inFig. 1, they will be in a protected position and will not be so apttoclog up from solid particles of thecoee bean falling on the same, andthe valve seats will be automatically cleansed b the inrush of waterinto the chamber X a ter each explosion.

While I have shownone embodiment of the invention, in the preferred formthereof, it will be obvious that various changes might be made in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts, and I do not mean tolimit the invention to such details, except as particularly pointed outin the claims.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:

1. In a coffee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and acover therefor, 0f a cupped annular plate provided with a hollow stem,said plate fitting in said container and being provided with o eningsspaced apart from said stem, and said'stem being provided with anabutment thereon, an annular percolator cup adapted to slip over saidstem and to be supported on said abutment, and a cup ed valve plate madeof thin resilient meta secured beneath said first mentioned plate andhaving resilient arms terminating in flap valves registering with said oenings.

2. In a co ee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and ahinged cover t erefor provided with a transparent dome shaped centralportion, of a cupped annular plate provided with a hollow stem,

said vplate fitting in said container and being provided with openingsspaced apart from said stem, and said stem being provided with anabutment thereon, an annular percolator cup adapted to sli over saidstem and to be supported on sai abutment, and a cupped valve late madeof thin resilient metal secured beneath said -first menlll tioned plateand having resilient arms terminating in flap valves registering withsaid openings.

3. In a coffee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and ahinged cover therefor provided with a transparent dome shaped centralportion, of a cupped annular plate provided with a hollow stem, saidplate fitting in said container and being provided with openings spacedapart from said stem, and said stem being provided with an abutmentthereon, an annular pereolator cup adapted to slip over said stem and tobe supported on said abutment, and a series of flap valves provided withresilient connecting arms mounted beneath said plate and registeringwith said open# mas.

In a coffee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and aheavy hinged cover therefor, of a cupped annular plate provided with ahollow stem, said plate fitting in said container and being providedwith openings spaced apart from said stem, and said stem being providedwith an abutment thereon, an annular percolator cup adapted to slip oversaid stem and to be supported on said abutment, and a series of iiapvalves provided with resilient connecting arms mounted beneath saidplate and registering with said openings.

5. In a coffee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and acover therefor, of a cupped annular plate provided with a hollow stem,said plate and stem being in the form of an inverted champagne glass,said plate fitting in said container and being provided with openingsspaced apart from said stem, and said stem being provided with anabutment thereon, a percolator cup adapted to slip over said stem and tobe supported on said abutment, and a cupped valve plate made of thinresilient metal secured beneath said first mentoned plate and havingresilient arms terminating in flap valves registering with saidopenings.

(i. In a coffee pot, the combination with a cylindrical container, and acover therefor, of a cupped annular plate provided with a hollow stein,said plate fitting in said container and being provided with openingsspaced apart from said stem, an annular percolator cup adapted to slipover said stem, and a cupped valve plate made of thin resilient metalsecured beneath said first mentioned plate and having resilient armsterminating in flap valves registering With said openings. l

7. In a coffee pot, the combination with a container, of a cupped plateprovided with a hollow stem, mounted in said container and beingprovided with openings spaced apart from said stem, and a series of flapvalves provided with resilient arms attached to and mounted beneath saidplate and registering with said openings.

MOSES LINDLEY IVOOD.

